Truck Build - DD, Tow Rig and play!

so here are some pics of the parts that i have been collecting for my truck. The bumper i got a sweet deal on. its the right color (which prolly needs to be repainted) but its got almost all the brackets too!

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Here is my p-pump. 180hp, just waiting to be put on the truck. safety and emission is up this month so after i get that taken care of i do the p-pump. that way i will have a whole year to figure out the tuning and that dang check eng light. haha.

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so the last time i drove my truck my front right tire stared locking up as i was pullin in my drive way! i new my front end was gettin pretty warn but i dident think it was as bad as it was. i changed all my ball joints about 6 months ago and at that time everything looked pretty good. pads were a little warn but the unit bearings felt tight. i thought maybe one of my pads came apart and was causing the wheel to lock up but after i got it apart it was apparent what was happening.

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so with my front right unit bearing locking up kinda put my front axle project in to high gear. i wouldn't be able to drive my truck until i get the new front axle done cuz i dident want to spent money on crappy unit bearings for an axle that i'm working on replacing. so here is the old rear dana 80 out of my truck that i am going to make in to my front end. i was going to use a 14bolt but i think that will be going on another project and i have a dana 80 in the rear and this one laying around so i thought might as well use it.

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so my hubs that i had machined a while back, i got the final measurements on them. where the flange was gonig to be and what to machine them down to. so i got those all machined.

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then i cut out some flanges out of some 1.5" plate. sanded down the outside so i would be easer to machine, machined the inside and all the holes for the wheel studs.

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after i got that done i got everything ready to press the flange on to the hub. i put the hub in the freezer for like 2 days, shrunk about 0.0015" so it would be a little easer to press in. went in pretty smooth, with the hand press it was tight but i dident have to get crazy with it or anything.

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i let it cool / warm up for a day why i was doing other stuff. then i welded the back of the flange to the hub. i still have some final machining to do like the diameter of the flange, the face of the flange and a step on the face of the flange to index the rotor on. i had an old 14 bolt spindle that i stuck a bearing on so i could spin the hub and weld it. my friend spun the hub why i welded. turned out pretty good. think on the next one i'll turn the heat up a little more. the 1.5" think flange really soaks up the heat.

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here is a pic of the inner c's that i have been fabin up. they turned out ok, i'm working on the knuckle's right now. put it next to a dedenbear 60 inner c for a reference. they should be pretty tuff.

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got my airbags in the mail the other day. they have 15.5" of travel so i think we should be good there. the shocks i'm planin on using are only 14's. i also was cruzin around NPS the other day and found these tanks. they are about 24" long and 5" - 6" around, i havent measured them yet. for 19 bucks each they were not a bad deal. i'm planing on using 4 of them in a row back where my spare tire used to be. they are rated for 40bar which is like 580psi so i think they should be fine for my 150 - 200 psi air system.

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Wow! Amazing!!!

So what joints are you using in the "C"s you made?

--Eric
 
Holy efff....dana 80 in the front that will be interesting to say the least..... and HEAVY
 
Wouldn't you be on the coast side of the gear running a D80 backwards?
 
Can't be any worse than backing up a trailer for miles and miles, although typically when you have to back-up more than a few hundred feet, it's easier to turn around and pull the trailer forward.

Overall it looks like a fun project, I'd be curious to see how long the D80 holds up spinning in reverse.
 
Atchley said:
Wouldn't you be on the coast side of the gear running a D80 backwards?
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That's how almost all front axles are. I think the D80 going backwards will still be stronger than a D60 going backwards.
 
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I've seen a few 14 bolts made into fronts get grenaded because of that.
 
Atchley said:
I've seen a few 14 bolts made into fronts get grenaded because of that.
Click to expand...

It is typically more in the oiling setup (or lack there of) that make them fail vs the coast or drive, in my experience.
 
Atchley said:
Wouldn't you be on the coast side of the gear running a D80 backwards?
Click to expand...

yes

Big Blue24 said:
Can't be any worse than backing up a trailer for miles and miles, although typically when you have to back-up more than a few hundred feet, it's easier to turn around and pull the trailer forward.

Overall it looks like a fun project, I'd be curious to see how long the D80 holds up spinning in reverse.
Click to expand...

thanks

White Knight said:
That's how almost all front axles are. I think the D80 going backwards will still be stronger than a D60 going backwards.
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definitely

Atchley said:
I've seen a few 14 bolts made into fronts get grenaded because of that.
Click to expand...

dvst8r said:
It is typically more in the oiling setup (or lack there of) that make them fail vs the coast or drive, in my experience.
Click to expand...

yes, like what was said above almost all pickups that have a front axle are running "backwards". Ford has been the big high pinion guys but no one else has really gone that way. if you think about it if you are driving in 4wheel drive up a hill or pulling a load forward the rear axle is running on the drive side and the front axle is on the coast side. but most of your weight / load is on the rear axle. it is doing most of the work. now if you were driving in 4wheel drive up a hill / pullilng a load backwards your front axle would be on the drive side and the rear axle would be on the coast side of the gears. but most of your load / work would be on the front axle. i think there is alot to say for the way the auto manufactures put together a vehicle. besides like white knight said the dana 80 is alot stronger that a dana 60 and i have never had a problem with the gears in my front 60, and the truck has 178,000+ miles on it. :rockwoot:
 
Could I get the part number on those air bags? I am thinking of building an air bag setup for my rear suspension and those would be perfect.
Thanks
 
Holy, you are doing amazing work! Good job on the build so far!! Fabricating your own stuff is always nice, and gives you the satisfaction most of the parts are your own. Good job man!
 
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